Method and apparatus for removing contaminants from conduits and fluid columns

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for contaminant separation utilizes an interleaved array of oppositely charged electrode plates for fluid treatment. Spacing between the parallel electrode plates is graduated so that the volume of the cavities between the opposing electrodes provides varying levels of treatment of a broad range of contaminants from a variety of fluid columns. A fluid flow path extending substantially orthogonal to the direction of the electrical field established between opposing electrode plates provides a feed stream with exposure to the varying levels of electrical charges between the electrode plates. The method and apparatus provides an effective means of contaminant separation by a device having a small footprint and requiring low amounts of electrical energy.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to extraction of scale, corrosion,deposits and contaminants from within conduits and on equipment utilizedin the transmission of fluid columns, and further relates to the removalof contaminants that may accumulate within fluid columns transferred insuch conduits.

It is common for contaminant deposits to accumulate within the innerwalls of conduits and equipment utilized in the transportation andtransmission of fluids from one location to another. In oilfieldpipelines, for example, a mixture of oil, water and minerals may flowout of a well and through equipment used to separate the marketable oilfrom the water and other components of the fluid column. Paraffin,asphaltene and mineral scale deposits typically form in conduits used totransport this fluid mixture and restrict flow within the pipeline.These deposits and the associated congestion they create may furtherlead to the deterioration of pumps, valves, meters and other equipmentutilized to propel and monitor the flow of the fluid through thepipeline system. Such deposits typically result in lost production andsubstantial expenditures for thermal, mechanical or chemical remediationto achieve and maintain full flow through a pipeline.

Many thermal exchange systems, such as cooling towers or boilers,utilize water as a heat transfer medium. Mineral scale and corrosionbuildup within such systems can result in flow restrictions similar tothose of oilfield pipelines. Deposits within the conduits of suchsystems typically restrict the flow of water through the system andadversely affect the operation of equipment such as pumps and valves.

Further, deposits within the walls of piping systems and on thermalexchange grids tend to act as a layer of insulation and inhibit theefficient transfer of heat carried by the water. Thus, contaminantdeposits result in restricted flow, lost efficiency and increased energyconsumption in these types of water treatment systems. Periodicdescaling of heat exchange equipment typically results in processdowntime and substantial labor and remediation expenditures.

In closed-loop systems where water is continuously circulated tofacilitate heat transfer from one area of a system to another, chemicaltreatment of the water is commonly used to remove contaminant depositsand control algae, bacteria and other biological contaminants. Overtime, the build-up of chemicals, minerals and other contaminants withina water column typically results in the continuously circulated watercolumn being unfit for continued use. Chemical and contaminant ladenwater streams typically require additional treatment to render themsuitable for discharge into a wastewater disposal system or for releaseinto the environment. Chemical treatment is costly and increasinglygives rise to growing environmental concerns with the storage, handlingand dispensing of dangerous chemicals.

These prior art methods of dealing with contaminants in fluid columnsare costly, time consuming and in some instances pose harm to theenvironment. For these and other reasons the effectiveness of suchmethods ranges from marginal to unsatisfactory. One alternative to priorart methods has been magnetic treatment wherein the magnetic fluxprovided by a magnetic field generator is introduced to a contaminatedfluid column. Magnetic treatment of fluid columns typically results inthe reduction and elimination of scale and other deposits withinconduits and on equipment utilized to propel a fluid through a system.Magnetic treatment may also be used to accelerate the separation of oiland water. Environmental regulations charge entities that generatecontaminated fluid columns as part of a manufacturing process or anincidental spill or leak with the containment, treatment and eliminationof pollutants from a fluid column prior to discharging the treatedeffluent into the environment. Numerous types of treatment systems areutilized in a variety of situations where discharge limits are of primeconcern. Examples of contaminated fluid columns include water run-offfrom facility operations, industrial wastewater, oilfield productionwater and wastes associated with contaminated soil remediation.

Magnetic treatment may be utilized prior to passing ahydrocarbon-contaminated feedstock through an oil/water separationdevice to enhance the efficiency of the equipment in the removal offree-floating oil. However, while magnet treatment of a feed streamaccelerates oil/water separation, contaminants such as suspended solids,typically remain within the fluid column. Thus, magnet treatment alonefails to address concerns faced by entities charged with the treatmentof a fluid column prior to its discharge into the environment.

One method of contaminant separation may be accomplished by passing acontaminated feedstock between electrically energized electrodes to bondsuspended and dissolved contaminants into larger particles to facilitatetheir extraction from the fluid column. For example, contaminantseparation may be utilized to break oil/water emulsions, allowing theseparated oil to be recovered from the water column. Contaminantseparation may also be used to initiate the coalescing of many suspendedand dissolved solids within a contaminated water column to acceleratethe bonding of solid contaminants and enhance the water clarificationprocess. While prior art contaminant separation devices may be ofbenefit in certain applications, they have a tendency to clog withsolids carried within the feedstock. This typically interrupts thetreatment process while the equipment is cleaned, creating delays inprocessing, substantial maintenance issues and other concerns. Further,prior art contaminant separation methods are typically limited in therange of feed stocks that may effectively be processed due to the equaland even spacing of the electrically energized electrodes within theirreactors.

While the spacing of the electrodes in some prior art devices may bemodified to achieve the desired results during the setup and initiationof treatment for a certain feedstock, changes in the composition of thefeed stream typically result in undesired and substandard treatment ofthe modified feedstock. However, if the spacing of the electrodes withinprior art devices is adjusted to treat a modified feed stream, undesiredand substandard treatment typically results when the feedstock resumesits original composition.

There have been many attempts to improve prior art treatment methods. Inmany instances, the desirable treatment resulting from utilizing smallerlaboratory reactors cannot be attained in field operations requiringlarger flow rates. Many prior art devices utilizing reactor designssimilar to that of the small laboratory reactors on a much larger scalein an attempt to achieve larger flow rates. However, merely increasingthe size of the plates or lengthening an array of electrodes within alarger housing capable of larger flow rates fails to provide for similartreatment results attained with the smaller laboratory cells unless aproportional increase in the current and voltage supplied to the largerelectrodes is provided. Therefore, an increase in the surface area ofelectrodes within a reactor without a proportional increase in amperageand voltage typically results in larger reactors failing to duplicatethe treatment levels achieved by smaller reactors due to a proportionaldecrease in the number of electrons and metal ions per square inchdispersed into a fluid column relative to the increased flow rate of afeedstock through a reactor. However, providing increased amperage andvoltage to larger cells of prior art devices typically results indeficiencies that include large power supply components requiring largeramounts of energy, electrical arching between electrode plates thatleads to the pitting and uneven wear of electrode plates, an accelerateddegradation of sacrificial electrodes and excessive heat generation.

Attempts by prior art devices to increase flow rates have typicallyresulted in a reduction in the types of contaminants that may be removedfrom a feedstock and a loss of efficiency when treating a broad range offluid columns with the even spacing of electrodes typically found insuch devices. Further, many prior art devices provide for the laminarflow of a feedstock through their electrodes. This typically reduces theexposure of a fluid column to the varying intensities of the electronicfields that may be found at varying distances from the electrode plates.

An additional deficiency of many prior art devices is the placement oftheir electrodes within a reactor housing so that substantial volumes ofa feed stream pass between the outer electrode plates and the inner wallof a reactor, resulting in substantial amounts of the feedstockreceiving little or no treatment. Further, prior art devices require aseparate power supply for each array of electrodes formed from aparticular electrically conductive material since differing levels ofelectrical voltage are typically required to control the reactions ofthe various metal electrodes with a fluid column. Multiple powersupplies occupy additional space and require additional input power.

None of the attempts to improve prior art devices provide the benefitsof the present invention. By departing from the prior art, the methodand apparatus hereby disclosed provide a simple, effective means ofretarding contaminant build up and removing existing deposits from theinternal walls of conduits and the surfaces of equipment utilized in thetransmission and storage of fluid columns. The method and apparatusdisclosed herein provide for the variable spacing of electrodes, andarrays of electrodes comprised of dissimilar metals having distinct andvariable surface area exposure, within a single readily accessiblereactor housing that may be driven by a single power supply.

The instant invention may therefore be utilized in the treatment of afluid column to facilitate extraction of contaminants from a feedstockfor subsequent collection of the pollutants for disposal, reprocessingor recycling.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In the instant invention, a method and apparatus are provided for use inthe extraction of deposits such as scale, corrosion, paraffin orasphaltene from within conduits utilized in the transmission of fluidcolumns by passing a feedstock through a magnetic field generator. Bysubjecting the feedstock to an intense magnetic field, dissolvedsubstances tend to remain in suspension instead of being absorbed intoions that would typically result in adhesive deposits within conduitsand on equipment utilized to transport the fluid. The magnetic fielddoes not remove contaminants from the fluid column. Rather, it induces asimilar charge to the elements carried within the fluid column andcauses dissolved and suspended substances such as paraffin, asphaltene,silica or calcium to become non-adhesive, repel each other and remain insuspension instead of forming adhesive deposits.

This invention generally relates to the treatment of fluid columns withan emphasis on the prevention of contaminant deposition, the removal ofdeposits from the internal walls of conduits and the extraction ofcontaminants from a fluid column. Therefore, treatment of feedstockswith a magnetic field generator typically enhances the ability of afluid to flow through conduits and equipment utilized in the storage,transportation and delivery of a fluid.

One such magnetic device may be comprised of layers of a continuous coilof wire disposed coaxially and radially spaced apart from one another,said coiled wire layers emanating outward from a fluid transmissionconduit and having open-air ducts formed by a pattern of spacersdisposed between layers of the uninterrupted coil of wire. This coaxialarray of wire layers provides for cooling of the continuous wire coil byallowing air passing through the open-air cooling ducts to transfer heatgenerated by the electrically charged wire to the atmosphere. Theopen-air cooling of the device serves to reduce heat that is typicallyretained within other types of electromagnetic field generators.Further, air-cooling the device results in less resistance within thecontinuous coil of wire, allowing more current to flow through the wirecoil. This increases the total amp turns, and therefore the magneticflux, provided by the device.

Should a magnetically treated fluid column require remedial treatment toallow for its continued reuse or discharge into the environment, thefeed stream may be further treated to extract a variety of dissolved andsuspended contaminants from the fluid column. Contaminant separation maybe accomplished by applying electric current and voltage to electrodescontacting a fluid column to provide a stable flocculate that may bereadily removed from the feed stream.

Thus, treatment of fluid columns by a magnetic field generator may beuseful in preventing and extracting contaminant deposits from withinconduits and equipment utilized in the storage, transportation anddelivery of fluid columns and on contaminant separation electrodes ofthe instant invention. When used in concert, magnetic treatment and thecontaminant separation methods disclosed herein provide a synergy oftreatment that significantly enhances the performance of systemsutilized in the transportation, transmission or circulation of fluidcolumns.

The input of controlled electrical energy to a contaminated feedstockresults in physical and chemical reactions that destabilize thecontaminated fluid column and allow contaminants to change form, therebyaccelerating their removal from the feed stream. Various treatmentsdelivered to a feedstock directed to pass through a properly configuredcontaminant separation reactor include exposing the fluid column toelectromagnetic fields, ionization, electrolysis and the formation offree radicals.

As a fluid column passes through charged electrodes within a reactorhousing, contaminants within a feedstock experience the neutralizationof ionic and particulate charges. Electromagnetic forces act at themolecular level to shear the molecules by disrupting the outer orbits ofmolecules. In addition, electrolysis that tends to occur in aqueousbased fluid columns provides hydrogen, oxygen, and hydroxyl liquids thatattack contaminates within the feedstock. Cathodic reactions generatehydrogen gas and reduce the valence state of dissolved solids, causingsome materials to become less soluble or achieve a neutral valencestate. The anode generates oxygen gas, thereby allowing for theoxidation of many contaminants to occur. In instances where an electrodemay be comprised of a sacrificial material, the anode also releasesmetallic ions into the feed stream that tend to bind with contaminantsand form a flocculate.

The instant contaminant separation method also disrupts many of theforces that tend to keep suspended particles separated and dispersedthroughout a fluid column. Following treatment, suspended particlestypically attach to other particles and coalesce for effectiveseparation. In addition, the flow of electrons through a contaminatedfluid column eliminates many organisms and biological contaminants, suchas bacteria, by altering the function of the cell membranes of theorganisms. Surface membranes of many organisms are typicallysemi-permeable layers regulating water intake through osmotic forceswith the electrical charge of fats and proteins in the surface membraneof the organism controlling this osmotic cellular water balance. Theintense ion exchange and electromagnetic forces provided by the instantmethod of contaminant separation drive the surface membranes ofbiological contaminants to an imbalanced state by overwhelming theelectrical field and charge of the organisms. Imbalanced surfacemembranes typically result in an organism excessively hydrating and thenexploding or instigating the dehydration of the organism, causing it toimplode. The increased flow of electrons frequently serves to end thecross-linking of proteins in membranes, terminating their cellularfunctions. Further, various electrode materials, such as copper, maydonate ions to a feed stream to provide residual sanitizing propertiesto the fluid column. Thus, electromagnetic forces, and ions donated fromsacrificial electrode plates, coupled with the oxidation of contaminantsas they flow through charged electrodes cause the membranes and cellwalls of many biological contaminants to collapse, thereby providing aneffective means of biological contaminant destruction.

These combined treatment forces allow many contaminants within a fluidcolumn to emerge from a contaminant separation reactor as newly formedcompounds that tend to readily settle as a flocculate. The combinedforces also aid in the degradation and extraction of biologicalcontaminants and organic compounds and typically result in significantreductions of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons, Total Suspended Solids,Total Dissolved Solids, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Biological OxygenDemand, Fats/Oils and Greases, and Nitrogen Compounds when applied tosuitable candidate feedstocks.

Additional benefits include destruction of many pathogens carried withinthe feedstock and significant reductions in the odor and turbidity ofthe effluent. A treated fluid column may be directed to separation orclarification apparatus to remove the flocculate, then to subsequenttreatment phases, if necessary, to extract any remaining contaminants.

Conductivity of a fluid column is an important factor in contaminantseparation and is primarily dependent upon the composition and quantityof contaminants carried within a fluid column. As used herein,conductivity may be described as the resistance to the flow ofelectrical charges through a fluid column. A feed stream comprised of ahigh percentage of suspended and dissolved elements may typically bemore electrically conductive and therefore provide less resistance tothe flow of electrical charges than a feedstock relatively free ofsuspended or dissolved matter. Seawater, for example, is typically moreconductive than fresh water due to its high levels of dissolvedminerals.

A constant flow rate of a fluid column through the electrodes and aconstant flow of electrons between the electrodes are desired foreffective treatment. In many instances, voltage supplied to theelectrodes may be allowed to fluctuate with the instant conductivity ofa fluid column to provide for a constant level of amperage beingsupplied to the electrodes. Therefore, the spacing of the electrodes,the conductivity of a feedstock and its influence upon the amperagedriving the process along with

While a specific electrode plate configuration of a prior art device mayattain a desired level of contaminant separation for a specific fluidcolumn, changes in composition of a feed stream often require modifyingthe spacing of the electrodes within the prior art device, orsubstituting another reactor having a different plate spacingconfiguration, in an attempt to reach desirable levels of fluidtreatment as the makeup of the feedstock varies. Such modifications aretime consuming and often result in suspension of fluid treatment while asuitable reactor configuration can be found, Therefore, use of manyprior art contaminant separation reactors with feed streams ofconstantly varying composition is typically labor intensive and timeconsuming for effective treatment. The reactor of the first embodimentof the instant invention is configured to provide treatment of a broadrange of soluble and suspended contaminants from a variety of fluidcolumns. The reactor includes a housing defining an interior chamberestablished by a fluid impervious boundary wall with an inner surfaceand having inlet and outlet ports, and two opposing electrodes, eachelectrode comprising a plurality of parallel, spaced apart plates of anelectrically conductive material coupled to a common buss bar whereinthe spacing between the plates is non-uniform. Each electrode receivesan opposite electrical charge, either positive or negative, from a powersupply. A fluid column entering the inlet port of the reactor may bedirected to follow a flow path formed by the opposing electrodes. Thesubstantially parallel array of plates forming the flow path through thereactor are electrically charged with the first plate having an oppositecharge from the second plate, the second plate having an opposite chargefrom the third plate, and so on. In this configuration, every plateforming the flow path through the reactor is connected to a common bussbar receiving an electrical charge opposite the charge provided to anadjacent plate.

The electrodes of the first embodiment of the instant invention maytypically be arranged within the interior chamber of the housing asopposing electrodes with the plates of the electrodes being orientedorthogonal to the inlet and outlet ports. The plates of the opposingelectrodes interleave in a parallel orientation to define a flow pathfrom the inlet port to the outlet port and form a series of cavities ofnon-uniform volume. As such, the flow path of a fluid is substantiallyorthogonal to the direction of the electrical field established betweenopposing electrode plates.

By arranging the electrode plates within a housing in such anorientation, a fluid flowing through the interleaved array of oppositelycharged electrode plates is exposed to a variety of electron fluxbetween the surfaces of the opposing electrode plates and along theedges of the plates. Once a fluid column enters the reactor and beginsflowing between the electrodes, the spacing between the parallel platesis graduated so that the volume of the cavities between the opposingelectrodes progressively increases. Thus, as a fluid column flows alonga flow path extending substantially parallel to the surface of eachelectrode plate and approaches the outlet port of the reactor, thevolume of each cavity along the fluid flow path through the housingprogressively increases from the inlet port to the outlet port.Graduated spacing between the electrode plates allows for treatment of abroad range of contaminants from a variety of fluid columns due to thevarying levels of electromagnetic fields, ionization, electrolysis andfree radical formation provided within the fluid flow cavities. Thefixed array of electrons having a graduated spacing configurationovercomes the deficiency of prior art devices that require replacing onereactor with another having different electrode configurations oropening a reactor to rearrange movable electrode; plates to provide anelectrode configuration to effectively treat a feedstock that constantlyvaries in composition.

A feedstock may be directed to flow through the variably spacedelectrodes of the instant invention so as the feed stream passes througheach fluid flow cavity of a reactor, the volume of each cavity along thefluid flow path through the housing progressively increases from theinlet port to the outlet port. Further, in contrast to the laminar flowprovided by the reactors of many prior art devices, the flow paththrough the graduated spacing of parallel plates and buss bars formingthe electrodes of the instant invention provides for increasedturbulence within the fluid column as it passes through the reactor.Turbulence within the reactor significantly increases the incidence ofsurface contact of the fluid column with the charged electrodes andprovides the feed stream with exposure to the varying levels ofelectrical charges between the electrode plates.

The second embodiment of the contaminant separation reactor of theinstant invention includes a plurality of contaminant separation sectorsdisposed in a substantially coplanar array within a single housing.Individual contaminant separation sectors are configured to replicatethe surface area and quality of treatment typically attained by smalllaboratory reactor cells. As used herein, a contaminant separationsector shall mean a distinct fluid treatment unit comprising a pair ofelectrodes, each electrode comprising a plurality of parallel,spaced-apart plates of an electrically conductive material coupled to acommon buss bar wherein the spacing between the plates of eachcontaminant separation sector is uniform, A contaminant separationsector may be connected to a supply of electrical power or othercontaminant separation sectors. Each electrode of a sector may receivesan opposite electrical charge, either positive or negative, from acontaminant separation power supply or an electrode of an adjacentsector so that in each sector, the substantially parallel, spaced-apartarray of plates are electrically charged with the first plate having anopposite charge from the second plate, the second plate having anopposite charge from the third plate, and so on.

A plurality of contaminant separation sector may be disposed within areactor housing defining an interior chamber established by a fluidimpervious boundary wall with an inner surface and having inlet andoutlet ports, so that a fluid flowing through the housing may movesubstantially parallel to the facing surfaces of the opposingelectrodes. As such, the fluid flow path extends substantiallyorthogonal to the direction of the electrical field established betweenopposing electrode plates. Further, arranging the electrode plates ofthe contaminant separation sectors in such an orientation to the fluidflow path allows the substantial amount of electron flux concentratedalong the edges of the electrode plates to provide for increasedintensity of electron flow through a fluid column.

Connections between contaminant separation sectors disposed within thehousing and the power supply form an electrical circuit. A fluid columnentering the inlet port of the reactor may be directed to flow throughthe evenly spaced parallel array of plates of the initial contaminantseparation sector within the housing and then be directed to flowthrough subsequent contaminant separation sectors disposed within thehousing.

In many instances it may be desirable to place static mixing apparatuswithin the reactor housing to disrupt any laminar flow that may resultfrom a fluid column passing between parallel arrays of plates. Staticmixing apparatus may be also be utilized to redirect a feedstock flowingnear the internal wall of a housing to the charged electrodes fortreatment. Further, a parallel array of plates comprising the electrodesof a contaminant separation sector may be arranged within a reactorhousing at an angle to the direction of flow of a feed stream throughthe reactor to disrupt laminar flow and increase turbulence within areactor.

The plurality of contaminant separation sectors may be connected inseries or parallel to a power supply to attain the desired fluidtreatment. The preferred method of arranging the contaminant separationsectors of the second embodiment of the instant invention includesconnecting the first electrode of a first contaminant separation sectorto a first terminal of a power supply. The second electrode of the firstsector is connected to a first electrode of a second contaminantseparation sector then the second electrode of the second sector isconnected to a second terminal of the power supply to form an electricalcircuit in series. When more than two contaminant separation sectors areutilized within a housing, the electrodes of an intermediate sector maybe connected to electrodes of the contaminant separation sectorimmediately preceding or succeeding it to complete the electricalcircuit.

The spacing between the array of plates of one contaminant separationsector may differ from the spacing between the array of plates of othercontaminant separation sectors within a single housing. By arranging aplurality of sectors having different and distinct electrode spacingconfigurations within a single housing, a broad range of treatment isprovided. Varied arrays of electrodes within a single housing overcomethe deficiency of prior art devices that require one reactor to bereplaced with a reactor having a different electrode configuration, oropening a reactor and rearranging movable electrode plates, to find aconfiguration of electrodes that will effectively treat feedstocks ofconstantly varying composition.

Utilization of a plurality of contaminant separation sectors disposedwithin a single housing allows sectors comprised of dissimilar metals tobe arranged within the housing and powered by a single power supply. Forexample, a feed stream may require treatment with carbon steel plates tobreak oil and water emulsions and donate iron ions to a feedstock thatcombine with suspended and dissolved metals, followed by treatment withaluminum plates to form a stable flocculate that may be readilyextracted from the feedstock. Contaminant separation sectors comprisedof carbon steel plates and contaminant separation sectors comprised ofaluminum plates may be arranged within a single reactor housing andutilize a single power supply to achieve the desired carbon steel toaluminum treatment ratio required for treatment of the fluid column.Various combinations of sectors comprised of a variety of materials maybe utilized to achieve the desired treatment of feedstocks.

Connecting sectors in series results in each contaminant separationsector receiving an identical amount of electrical current to drive thetreatment. By connecting contaminant separation sectors in series, arelatively low amount of constant current may be applied to theelectrodes in each sector to achieve the desired levels metal ions andelectrons that may be dispersed into a fluid column at a given flow rateto achieve the effective treatment of a feed stream. Lower amperagelevels typically result in less heat generation, reduced arching betweenelectrodes and prolonged treatment life of contaminant separationsectors due to the reduced degradation of sacrificial electrodematerials. In a series arrangement of sectors within a housing, thevoltage required to maintain the constant current level supplied to thesectors is typically the sum of the voltage levels required to maintainthe current level of each sector.

The voltage supplied to each sector may vary based on parameters such asthe composition of the materials forming each sector and the totalsurface area of a sector as determined by the size of the platescomprising the electrodes and the spacing between the electrode plates.These parameters have a direct effect on the strength of the magneticfield and the treatment provided by each sector. For example, sectorscomprised of sacrificial metal materials tend to disperse more metalions into a fluid column for electrochemical treatment of the feedstockwhile non-sacrificial electrodes tend to provide for a more substantialgeneration of hydrogen and oxygen as a result of increased electrolysisactivity.

Utilization of contaminant separation sectors electrically connected inseries and comprised of dissimilar metals wherein the spacing andcomposition of the electrodes of one sector may differ from the spacingand composition of plates of other sectors within a single housingallows for a broader range of fluid treatment. Effective treatment offeed streams at higher flow rates may be attained while typicallymaintaining a low current level. The instant invention thereforeprovides an effective means of contaminant separation that may beattained by a device having a much smaller footprint and requiring lesspower to operate than prior art devices.

The power supply for the contaminant separation reactor of the instantinvention may be configured to enhance the efficiency of the treatmentprocess by providing for the regulation and modification of theelectrical voltage and current applied to the electrodes. The electricalcharges applied to the electrodes within a reactor may be adjusted basedon parameters such as the composition and conductivity of a feedstock,the desired level of treatment, the materials comprising the electrodesand their arrangement within a reactor housing and system flow rates.

For example, the power supply may be designed and configured to utilizethe conductivity of a fluid column to automatically regulate the voltageapplied to the electrodes within a reactor to maintain the desiredcurrent levels for effective treatment of the fluid column. Theelectrical current supplied to the electrodes may be adjusted and fluidsamples may be analyzed during the initial start up of a system toascertain the most favorable current level required to provide thedesired treatment of a feedstock. Upon determining the desired currentlevel, the power supply may then utilize the conductivity of the feedstream to automatically regulate the voltage required to maintain thedesired current level. Feed streams having a high level of conductivitytypically provide lower levels of resistance within the fluid columnthan feedstocks with lower levels of conductivity. Thus, the greater theconductivity of a feed stream, and therefore the lower the level ofresistance, the less voltage required to maintain the desired electricalcurrent level supplied to the electrodes to achieve the preferred levelof fluid treatment.

The simple equation I=V/R may be utilized to demonstrate fluid columnshaving high levels of conductivity typically provide lower levels ofresistance to the flow of electrical current and require less voltage tomaintain the desired electrical current supplied to the electrodes. Inthe equation, I represents the desired electrical current, V representsthe voltage and R represents the resistance within the fluid column tothe flow of electrical current. In any fractional equation, in order forthe quotient to remain constant when the denominator decreases, thenumerator must also decrease. Therefore, in order for current I toremain constant while resistance R decreases due to the increasedconductivity of the feedstock, voltage V must also decrease.

The power supply may have the capability of automatically adjusting itsoutput of voltage to the electrodes within a reactor to maintain thedesired current level required to effectively treat a feedstock as theconductivity of a feed stream fluctuates. Thus, changes in the make upof the feed stream, and therefore its conductivity, are typically oflittle consequence in the ability of the instant invention toeffectively treat feedstocks of varying composition.

A power supply may also be configured to automatically alternate thepositive and negative charges applied to the opposing electrodes toimpede the formation of deposits on the electrodes. To achieve thedesired level of treatment for certain feed steams, a reactor may employthe sacrificial degradation of certain electrode plates. For example,sacrificial aluminum plates may be utilized to clarify aqueous feedstreams and enhance contaminant separation. The periodic reversing ofthe polarity supplied to the opposing electrodes plates tends to providefor a more uniform degradation of such sacrificial electrodes over time.However, when automatically alternating the polarity of the chargessupplied to the electrodes, a brief period of time is required where nopower is supplied to the electrodes prior to reversing the polarity toallow the previous electrical charge to dissipate from an electrode.

Utilizing a magnetic field generator to pretreat a fluid column andplace elements within a feed stream in suspension typically increasesthe effectiveness of the contaminant separation electrodes of theinstant invention. Magnetic fluid treatment typically retards theaccumulation of contaminants as deposits on electrode plates by inducingsimilar charges to the elements carried within a feedstock. Bysubjecting a feed stream to an intense magnetic field, dissolvedsubstances within the fluid column tend to remain in suspension due totheir decreased incidence of surface contact and bonding as a result ofsimilarly charged ions repelling each other as they pass through thereactor instead of forming adhesive deposits that could otherwise coatelectrodes and impede their efficiency. Thus, magnetic treatment of afeedstock typically prevents clogging and restricted flow within acontaminant separation reactor by placing elements within a feed streamin suspension and impeding the formation of deposits on electrodes thatcould diminish the effective generation of electrical charges betweenthe electrically charged plates.

The benefits of utilizing ozone and other forms of oxidation toeliminate biological contaminants have long been practiced, but theeffects of magnetic treatment it treating feed streams to eradicate suchcontaminants is relatively new. Exposing feedstocks containingbiological contaminants to concentrated magnetic fields has been shownto collapse the cell walls and destroy the membranes of suchcontaminants. Thus, electrolysis and magnetic field generation providedby the instant invention may be of particular utility in the destructionand elimination of a great many microorganisms because unlikeantibiotics or chemical treatment, bacteria and other biologicalcontaminants cannot develop immunity to such treatments.

The instant invention may be configured to operate at low pressures andhigh flow rates. Ongoing maintenance consists of regularly scheduledinspections and cleaning. Periodic adjustment of the power supply may berequired to compensate for the degradation of electrodes comprised ofsacrificial materials.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiments of theinvention in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of combined magnetic and contaminantseparation methods for treatment of fluid columns;

FIG. 2 illustrates an open top view of opposing electrodes within thehousing of the first embodiment of the contaminant separation reactor ofthe instant invention;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of an electrode utilized in the firstembodiment of the contaminant separation reactor of the instantinvention;

FIG. 4 shows the fluid flow path through the plates forming theelectrodes of the first embodiment of the contaminant separation reactorof the instant invention.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of an contaminant separation sector utilizedin the second embodiment of the contaminant separation reactor of theinstant invention; and

FIG. 6 is a cut-away view of a reactor housing showing an arrangement ofthe contaminant separation sectors of the second embodiment of theinstant invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The instant invention utilizes revised principles of magnetic treatmentwith electrochemistry and physics to result in a synergy of technologiesand principles integrated into a method and apparatus capable oftreating a wide variety of contaminated feedstocks to produce aneffluent that may typically be reused or discharged into theenvironment. As a contaminated feed stream moves through the system,treatment of the feedstock may be accomplished by utilizing magneticfields, ionization, electrolysis and free radical formation.

The basic system may consist of a magnetic field generator and a reactorcontaining electrically conductive electrodes. After magnetic treatmenthas been used to loosen and eliminate scale and other deposits from apiping system or other source, a feedstock may be directed to flowthrough charged electrodes where a number of treatment processes occur.The instant invention typically utilizes electrical forces to neutralizeionic and particulate charges and remove contaminants such as colloidalparticulates, oils and dissolved metals from previously stablesuspensions and emulsions.

For example, electromagnetic forces are utilized to overcome the forcescreating an emulsion and allow oil droplets to separate from a fluidcolumn. A principal cathodic reaction of an electrode reduces hydrogenions to hydrogen gas and reduces the valence states of dissolved metals.An electrode functioning as an anode may release metallic ions into afeed stream and liberate oxygen gas from the aqueous portion of afeedstock. As a result, newly formed compounds precipitate into areadily settable and easily dewatered sludge. The resulting flocculateis similar to a chemically formed flocculate, however, the instantflocculate tends to be larger and provide for faster separation thanchemically formed flocculates. Subsequent treatment may be used tofacilitate the removal of the flocculate and other dissolved andsuspended contaminants to provide an effluent typically suitable forreuse or discharge.

Magnetic treatment provides for a significant reduction in the surfacetension of water and aids in the maintenance and operation of heatexchange equipment. Scale deposits within the walls of piping systemsand on components of heat transfer equipment restrict flow and increaseenergy consumption in heat exchange systems. In cooling towers, boilersand other heat exchange equipment, magnetic treatment may be utilized toremove scale that tends to inhibit the transfer of heat carried by waterflowing through such systems.

In applications that require a water column to constantly circulatethrough a piping system, magnetic water treatment may be used to preventthe formation of scale deposits within the system. Residual effects ofmagnetic treatment typically result in the softening of existing scaleand other deposits within a piping system and allow the scale todisperse into the water column. Magnet treatment may further be utilizedto effectively destroy bacteria and other biological contaminants influid columns by causing the cell walls and membranes of such organismsto collapse when a feedstock is exposed to concentrated magneticcharges.

While a fundamental use of magnetic treatment may be to loosen andeliminate scale and deposits from piping systems, magnetic forces alsoovercome forces that cause emulsions and can be utilized to acceleratethe separation of oil and water. Oil has a lower specific gravity thanwater and will typically float on a volume of water. However, mechanicalagitation can shear the interface of distinct layers of oil and water sothat small oil droplets may become dispersed in the water. In a staticstate, these small oil droplets tend to coalesce, form larger dropletsand will eventually float out of suspension.

The addition of surfactants will allow a thin molecular coat of thesurfactant to be adsorbed onto the surfaces of the oil droplets, therebypolarizing the oil droplets, causing them to repel each other and remainin a dispersed state. These small oil droplets result in a substantialincrease in the surface area of the oil suspended within a water columnand the tendency of the oil to form a stable dispersion or emulsion.Under the influence of a magnetic field, adsorbed ions supplied by asurfactant that give an oil droplet its surface charge begin to moveacross the surface of the droplet and result in the formation of adipolar charge of the oil droplets. The dipolar droplets then begin toagglomerate under the force of mutual electrostatic attraction as theycollide and coalesce until their buoyancy overcomes their repulsiveforces. The magnetically treated feedstock may then be processed byconventional oil-water separation to remove the oil.

While magnet treatment serves to reduce and eliminate scale and otherdeposits as well as accelerate the separation of oil and water,contaminants such as bacteria, algae, oils, clays, silica, and heavymetals may be held in suspension within a water column followingmagnetic treatment. The instant method of contaminant separation may beused to neutralize the charges suspending the contaminants within afluid column and allow them to precipitate and separate from afeedstock.

Contaminant separation has been employed for years in water treatmentwhere electric voltage is used to produce a strong electromagnetic fieldto disrupt the attraction of suspended particles and allow contaminantsto precipitate. Early contaminant separation methods provided excellentcontaminant removal compared to chemical precipitation, but high capitaland operating costs and low flow rates tended to restrict the use ofthese prior art devices. Today, chemical treatment is less acceptabledue to more stringent discharge regulations. Further, the resultingsolid residues are typically classified as hazardous materials thatrequire additional treatment. The development of a magnetic fieldgenerator and a contaminant separation reactor have resulted in theinvention advanced hereto for a method and apparatus capable ofproviding effective treatment of fluid columns.

Fluid columns that have previously been exposed to magnetic treatmenttend to be more readily treated by the instant method of contaminantseparation. The residual effect of inducing similar charges to dissolvedand suspended substances within a fluid column allows contaminantswithin a feed stream to remain in suspension rather than form adhesivedeposits. By causing contaminants within a fluid column to becomenon-adhesive, feed streams typically flow more freely and are lesslikely to clog the flow path of a contaminant separation reactor or coatthe electrodes of a reactor with accumulated contaminant deposits. Thereactor of the instant invention utilizes a single power supply and hasa smaller footprint, lower operating costs and a capacity for greaterflow rates than prior art devices.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the fluid treatment method disclosed hereinwhere a magnetic field generator 1 is shown as part of a closed-looptreatment system to reduce and prevent the formation of scale and otherdeposits within the interior walls of the piping system and othercomponents of heat transfer device 60.

Magnetic field generator 1 may be comprised of a length of conduithaving a fluid impervious boundary wall with an inner surface and anouter surface and having a fluid entry port and a fluid discharge port.A segment of said conduit may be encircled by an electrical conductor,said electrical conductor being coiled around a segment of the conduitto form a first layer of coiled electrical conducting material and asecond layer of coiled electrical conducting material coaxially disposedand spaced apart from one another by a pattern of spacers.

The pattern of spacers forms a plurality of open-air cooling ductsbetween the coaxially disposed and spaced apart layers of electricalconductor and promotes the cooling of the coiled electrical conductor byallowing air to flow between the layers of coiled electrical conductor.A fluid column circulated through device 60 may be directed toelectromagnetic field generator 1 to receive magnetic treatment andplace scale and other contaminants within a feed stream in suspension.The fluid column may then be returned to device 60 for furtherutilization in the transfer of heat.

As the amount of contaminants within the fluid column reaches a levelthat affects the heat transfer ability of the fluid column, the fluidcolumn may then be directed to flow through contaminant separationreactor 100 where contaminants in the feedstock may bond into a stableflocculate to facilitate their separation from the fluid column. A fluidcolumn treated within reactor unit 100 may then be discharged forseparation of the resulting flocculate by means of filtration, settlingwithin a static tank or other suitable separation techniques provided byapparatus 200. A treated fluid column may then be directed to subsequenttreatment devices, if necessary, to extract any remaining contaminantsand then returned to device 60 for additional service or discharged intothe environment.

Power supply 150 may be utilized to energize the electrodes withinreactor 100 of the contaminant separation unit. The power supply may beconfigured to allow the level of electrical current supplied to theelectrodes to be adjusted and set to achieve the desired treatment of afeed stream. The power supply may further have the capability ofutilizing the conductivity of a feed stream to regulate the supply ofvoltage required to maintain the desired current level to theelectrodes. Providing an automatically variable, or floating, supply ofvoltage to the electrodes within the reactor allows the desiredtreatment of a feed stream to consistently be achieved, even as theconductivity of the feedstock passing through the reactor may changefrom time to time. Utilizing the conductivity of a feed stream toregulate a floating voltage supply and maintain the desired level ofelectrical current supplied to electrodes is typically referred to as acurrent driven application of contaminant separation. In some instancesit may be desirable to set the voltage level and allow for a variablesupply of electrical current in a voltage driven application.

Contaminant separation power supply 150 typically converts alternatingcurrent from an appropriate power source, rectifies it, and providesdirect current and voltage to the power supply terminals of the opposingelectrodes of reactor 100 via first and second electrical terminalconnections. The electrical charges applied to the electrodes within areactor may be adjusted based on parameters such as the composition andconductivity of a feedstock, the desired level of treatment, thematerials comprising the electrodes and their arrangement within areactor housing and system flow rates with polarity of the voltage andcurrent automatically reverse from time to time to remove scale andother deposits to provide for a relatively uniform rate of degradationof electrodes comprised of sacrificial materials.

FIG. 2 depicts an open top view of the contaminant separation reactor ofthe first embodiment of the instant invention. Opposing electrodes 110and 120 are shown within reactor housing 100 defining an interiorchamber established by a fluid impervious boundary wall with an innersurface and having inlet and outlet ports. Each electrode is comprisedof a plurality of parallel, spaced apart plates of an electricallyconductive material coupled to a common buss bar wherein the cavitiesbetween the plates are non-uniform and the plates are fixed in aperpendicular orientation to the buss bar. The electrode plates arearranged in a parallel pattern that provides for progressively greaterdistances between the facing surfaces of each adjacent plate. The platesof the opposing electrodes interleave in a parallel orientation todefine a flow path from the inlet port to the outlet port and form aseries of cavities of non-uniform volume. As such, the flow path of afluid is substantially orthogonal to the direction of the electricalfield established between opposing electrode plates.

Power supply terminals 129 are fixed to the buss bar of electrode 120and are shown extending through the side of reactor housing 100. Inaddition to providing a means of connecting electrode 120 to thecontaminant separation power supply, terminals 129 may also be used tosecure electrode 120 within reactor housing 100.

Within reactor 100, positive voltage and current from the power supplymay be applied directly to power supply terminal 129 and flow throughthe buss bar to the parallel array of plates forming electrode 120.Negative voltage and current from the power supply may be connecteddirectly to the power supply terminal of electrode 110 and flow throughits buss bar to its parallel array of plates. Each plate is energizedwith an electrical charge opposite from its adjacent plate, creating adifferential voltage between adjacent plates. As a fluid column followsthe flow path created by the cavities between the electrode plates, theconductivity of a feedstock facilitates the influence of the voltage andcurrent on the feed stream.

Within reactor 100, each electrode plate maintains a relatively equal,but opposite, electrical charge to that of an adjacent plate of theopposing electrode.

Electrodes 110 and 120 are arranged within reactor 100 so the bottomedge of the buss bars and the parallel, plates fixed to the buss bar ina graduated spacing configuration to form each electrode are in fluidcommunication with the inside bottom surface of reactor housing 100. Thebuss bars of electrodes 110 and 120 are positioned to be in fluidcommunication with the inner side walls of reactor housing 100 and heldin place and secured within the reactor by the power supply terminalsthat extend through the side walls of the reactor housing. Electrodes110 and 120 may be sized so that the top edges of their buss bars andtheir parallel plates in a graduated spacing configuration are in fluidcommunication with the inside of removable reactor top 100 a when it isfastened to reactor housing 100.

Regular maintenance and cleaning of reactor unit 100 is greatlysimplified by the above-mentioned construction. The operator need onlyunfasten reactor top 110 a from reactor housing 100 to access electrodes110 and 120 for cleaning. Debris rinsed from the electrodes and flowpath of the reactor may be directed to clean out drain 110 b fordischarge from the apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a top view of an electrode utilized in the contaminantseparation reactor of the instant invention. Plates 121, 122, 123, 124,125 and 126 typically are of a uniform thickness, length and height andare connected as a fixed parallel array to buss bar 128. Power supplyterminal 129 is fixed to buss bar 128 and facilitates the flow ofelectricity from the power supply to the parallel array of plates 121,122, 123, 124, 125 and 126. Metal plates are typically used to form theelectrodes with the most commonly used materials being carbon steel,aluminum, copper, titanium and stainless steel. The composition of afeedstock and the desired quality of treatment typically determine thetype of material utilized to form the electrode plates. For example,fluid columns may be treated with electrodes formed of relativelynon-sacrificial materials, such as stainless steel or titanium, thattypically do not donate ions to the feedstock under the influence ofelectrolysis. Electron flow between the charged plates, coupled withelectromagnetic field generation and the creation of oxygen, hydrogenand OH radicals, provide an effective means of destroying microorganismsand biological contaminants while also breaking the bonds creatingemulsions.

In other applications, sacrificial plates may be used to disperse ionsinto a fluid column to facilitate the precipitation of suspended anddissolved contaminants. When voltage is applied across plates used toform sacrificial electrodes, the electrode functioning as the anode maydonate metal ions to the feed stream as part of the contaminantseparation process.

As shown in FIG. 4, the electrode plates within reactor unit 100 arearranged in a parallel orientation. However, the spacing between theparallel plates of the two electrodes is non-uniform and graduated sothat the volume of the cavities between the opposing electrodesprogressively increases as a fluid column flows through the reactor.Graduated spacing allows for treatment of a broad range of contaminantsfrom a variety of fluid columns and eliminates the need of prior artdevices to try reactors having different plate configurations or openinga reactor and rearranging movable plates in an effort to find anelectrode configuration that will provide effective treatment forfeedstocks that vary in composition from time to time.

The space between the buss bar of one electrode and the end of anopposing electrode plate may typically be greater than the space betweenthe adjacent plates of the opposing electrodes. Such spacing allows afluid to flow around the end of one plate, into the adjoining fluid flowchamber and around the end of the adjacent plate of the opposingelectrode, thus defining the flow path. The plates of the opposingelectrodes interleave in a parallel orientation to define a flow pathfrom the inlet port to the outlet port and form a series of cavities ofnon-uniform volume. As such, the flow path of a fluid is substantiallyorthogonal to the direction of the electrical field established betweenopposing electrode plates.

A feedstock entering reactor housing 100 through inlet 108 may flow intothe cavity between the inside wall of the reactor housing 100 andelectrode plate 111. The feed stream may then pass through the open areabetween the end of plate 111 and buss bar 128 of the opposing electrodeand into the cavity between plate 111 of the first electrode and plate121 of the opposing electrode. The fluid column may then flow throughthe gap between the end of plate 121 and buss bar 118 and into thecavity between oppositely charged electrodes plates 121 and 112, and soon.

The feedstock may continue to flow through successive adjacent cavitiesof non-uniform volume by following a flow path around the end of aparallel plate of one electrode and then around the end of a parallelplate of the other electrode in a back-and-forth direction across theinterior of the housing to outlet 109 for discharge from reactor housing100.

FIG. 5 is a top view of a contaminant separation sector utilized in thesecond embodiment of the contaminant separation reactor of the instantinvention. As used herein, a contaminant separation sector shall mean adistinct fluid treatment unit comprising a pair of electrodes, eachelectrode comprising a plurality of parallel, spaced-apart plates of anelectrically conductive material coupled to a common buss bar whereinthe spacing between the plates of each contaminant separation sector isuniform. Plates 221, 223, 225 and 227 are typically comprised of anelectrically conductive material having a uniform thickness, length andheight and fixed as a parallel array to buss bar 229. Plates 222, 224,226 and 228 are typically comprised of an identical electricallyconductive material having a uniform thickness, length and height andfixed as a parallel array to buss bar 230.

Buss bar 229 facilitates the flow of electricity to the parallel arrayof plates 221, 223, 225 and 227 while buss bar 230 facilitates the flowof electricity to the parallel array of plates 222, 224, 226 and 228. Abuss bar may be connected directly to an electrical power supply, orconnected in series or parallel to the buss bar of an adjacent sectorwithin a single reactor housing to form an electrical circuit. Further,multiple reactor housings may be connected in series or parallel anddriven by a single power supply to provide for increased system flowrates.

Metal plates are typically used to form the electrode plates and bussbars of the contaminant separation sector with the most commonly usedmaterials being carbon steel, copper, stainless steel, titanium andaluminum. Electrodes formed from metals having a characteristic ofacting as sacrificial plates may be used to disperse ions into the fluidcolumn to facilitate the precipitation of the suspended and dissolvedcontaminants. It is desirable to periodically reverse the polarity ofthe electrical energy applied to sacrificial electrodes to allow them todegrade relatively equally and to reduce scaling and plating bycontaminants in the feedstock.

Electrodes comprised of different metals, varied spacing configurationsor having varied surface areas may be arranged within a reactor housingand driven by a single power supply. For example, a feedstock mayinitially be exposed to a sector comprised of sacrificial carbon steelelectrodes that donate iron ions to the feed stream that may combinewith suspended and dissolved metals, and other contaminants, in thefluid column. A sector comprised of sacrificial aluminum electrodes maythen be utilized to clarify the fluid column by distributing aluminumions into the feedstock previously exposed to the carbon steel sector tocoalesce with the carbon steel ions that have combined with metals andother contaminants suspended within the feed stream to form a stableflocculate that is easily separated from the fluid column.

FIG. 6 depicts a cut-away view of the second embodiment of the instantinvention and shows a plurality of contaminant separation sectors 201,202 and 203 layered in a substantially coplanar array. As used herein, acontaminant separation sector shall mean a distinct fluid treatment unitcomprising a pair of electrodes, each electrode comprising a pluralityof parallel, spaced-apart plates of an electrically conductive materialcoupled to a common buss bar wherein the spacing between the plates ofeach contaminant separation sector is uniform. Each electrode of acontaminant separation sector is comprised of a plurality of parallel,spaced apart plates coupled to a common buss bar wherein the spacingbetween the plates is uniform. The individual contaminant separationsectors are configured to replicate the surface area and quality oftreatment attained by small laboratory reactor cells and are connectedin series by electrical jumpers 204 within reactor housing 200, saidhousing defining an interior chamber established by a fluid imperviousboundary wall with an inner surface and having inlet and outlet ports.

Each sector of the second embodiment of the instant invention istypically arranged within the interior chamber of a housing as opposingelectrodes with the plates of the electrodes being orientedsubstantially parallel to the fluid flow path through the housing. Theplates of the opposing electrodes of each sector interleave in aparallel orientation to define a flow path from the inlet port to theoutlet port and form a series of cavities of uniform volume provided bythe even spacing between the facing surfaces of adjacent plates.However, the volume of the cavities between the facing surfaces of theelectrode plates of one sector may differ from the volume of thecavities between the facing surfaces of the electrode plates of othersectors in the layered and substantially coplanar array of a pluralityof contaminant separation sectors disposed within a housing. Each platein a sector is energized with an electrical charge opposite from itsadjacent plate, resulting in a differential voltage being createdbetween adjacent plates. Arranging the electrode plates of thecontaminant separation sectors in such an orientation to the fluid flowpath allows the substantial amount of electron flux concentrated alongthe edges of the electrode plates to provide for an increased intensityof electron flow through a fluid column. As such, a fluid enteringreactor housing 200 through inlet port 207 and discharged through outletport 206 flows through the housing substantially parallel to the facingsurfaces of the opposing electrodes so that the fluid flow path extendssubstantially orthogonal to the direction of the electrical fieldestablished between opposing electrode plates.

A contaminant separation power supply typically converts alternatingcurrent from an appropriate power source, rectifies it, and providesdirect current and voltage via first and second electrical terminalconnections to the power supply terminals 231 and 232 of the opposingelectrodes of reactor 200. The voltage and current supplied to thereactor by the power supply may be automatically reversed atpredetermined intervals to clear the plates of scale and other depositsand provide for a relatively uniform rate of degradation of sacrificialelectrodes.

Power supply terminal 231 extending through the side of reactor housing200 is connected to the first electrode of contaminant separation sector201 via jumper 204. The second electrode of contaminant separationsector 201 is connected to the first electrode of contaminant separationsector 202 via jumper 204. The second electrode of contaminantseparation sector 202 is connected to a first electrode of contaminantseparation sector 203 via jumper 204. The second electrode ofcontaminant separation sector 203 is connected to power supply terminal232 extending through the side of reactor housing 200 via jumper 204.

Power supply terminal 231 may be connected to the positive terminal of apower supply and power supply terminal 232 may be connected to thenegative terminal of a power supply to allow electrical energy to flowthrough contaminant separation sectors 201, 202 and 203 connected inseries. The conductivity of a feedstock influences the voltage requiredto maintain the desired level of current for effective treatment as afeed stream passes between adjacent plates having opposite electricalcharges in the substantially coplanar array of contaminant separationsectors. Within reactor housing 200, each array of plates forming oneelectrode of a contaminant separation sector maintains the same levelsof current and voltage relative to the array of plates forming theopposite electrode of the sector. When connected in series, the currentsupplied to one sector is identical to the current level supplied to allother sectors, regardless of the spacing between electrode plates, thecomposition of the plates forming the electrodes of the sectors or otherfactors.

However, the voltage required to maintain the desired amount of currentsupplied to an arrangement of sectors connected in series in a currentdriven application of contaminant separation may vary from sector tosector. For example, one sector having an electrode plate spacingconfiguration where the volume of the cavities between its plates isdifferent from the spacing configuration of another sector will requirea different amount of voltage to be provided to each of the sectors tomaintain a constant current level. Other examples where a differentamount of voltage may be required from sector to sector may occur whenthe material comprising the electrodes of one sector is dissimilar fromthat of another sector or the surface area of the electrode plates ofone sector differ from that of another sector.

To determine the total voltage required to drive multiple (2) sectorsconnected in series within a reactor housing, these tests andcalculations should be performed.

1) connect two contaminant separation sectors in series to a powersupply;

2) measure the voltage (Separation Voltage) required to achieve andmaintain a predetermined amount of current (20 amps, for example) atdifferent spacing intervals between the contaminant separation sectors;

3) the Total Voltage Source (Vs) required to drive X contaminantseparation sectors connected in series with the spacing intervalestablished in step 2 above will be:

Vs=(X Contaminant Separation Sectors/2)*(Separation Voltage)

Separation voltage is the ratio of two cubic functions, the ratiobetween the surface area of the electrode plates/the distance betweenthe electrode plates; and the total surface area of the edges of theelectrode plates/the distance between the contaminant separationsectors.

For example, contaminant separation sector 201 may be comprised ofeighteen plates of aluminum material measuring 8 inches in length, fourinches in height and one-fourth of an inch in thickness, evenly spacedone-fourth inch apart from one another. Sector 202 may be comprised ofeighteen plates of carbon steel material measuring 8 inches in length,two inches in height and one-fourth of an inch in thickness, evenlyspaced one-fourth inch apart from one another. Sector 203 may becomprised of a total often plates of 316 stainless steel materialmeasuring 8 inches in length, one inch in height and one-fourth of aninch in thickness, evenly spaced one-half inch apart from one another.

Even though sectors 201 and 202 utilize an identical number of plateshaving the same length, thickness and spacing, the plates of sector 202are only half the height of the plates of sector 201. Therefore, thesurface area of the plates of sector 202 is one half the surface area ofthe plates of sector 201, while sector 203 has less than seven times thesurface area of sector 201 and less than three and one half times thesurface area of sector 202. Further, the materials comprising the platesof each sector differs from the materials utilized in the other sectors.Therefore, each sector will require a different amount of voltagerelative to the other sectors to maintain a constant current in array ofcontaminant separation sectors connected in series.

As the conductivity of a feedstock fluctuates, the voltage requirementsfor this current driven application of contaminant separation will alsovary. As a feed stream becomes more conductive, less voltage will berequired to maintain the desired level of current flowing through thesectors of the reactor. However, as a fluid column flowing through areactor becomes less conductive, more voltage may be required tomaintain the constant current flowing through the reactor.

Relatively low current levels may be required to drive the electrodes byconnecting the contaminant separation sectors in series. The voltagesupplied to each sector may vary based on factors such as spacingbetween electrode plates, total surface area of the electrodes,composition of the materials forming a sector and the conductivity ofthe feedstock. Lower amperage levels typically result in a more gradualdegradation of sacrificial electrode materials and prolonged treatmentlife of the contaminant separation sectors due to less heat generationand minimal arching between electrodes.

The substantially coplanar array of contaminant separation sectors 201,202 and 203 may be arranged within housing 200 to facilitate theirextraction for cleaning, inspection and routine maintenance. Simplesealing apparatus utilizing rapid release mechanisms provide awatertight seal for housing 200 to prevent leakage since relatively lowpressure is required for a fluid column to flow through the housing.Regular maintenance and cleaning of reactor 200 is greatly simplified bythis construction. The operator need only remove the top of reactor 200to access contaminant separation sectors 201, 202 and 203. Drain valve208 may be utilized to allow water and debris generated during theperiodic cleaning of the housing to flow out of the enclosure and into acollection vessel.

Static mixing apparatus 205 may be disposed within reactor housing 200to redirect the flow of a feedstock and create turbulence within thefeed stream to reduce laminar flow as a fluid column passes through thearray of sectors. Further, the parallel electrode plates may be arrangedat an angle to the redirection of flow of fluid through the reactor. Incertain applications it may be desirable to attach the static mixingapparatus to the contaminant separation sectors to enhance thestructural stability of the substantially coplanar array of sectors.

Electrode plates within reactor unit 200 are arranged in a parallelorientation. However, the spacing between the plates, the surface areaor the materials comprising the electrodes of one contaminant separationsector may vary from the spacing between the plates, the surface area orthe materials comprising the electrodes of other contaminant separationsectors within the reactor housing. The varied spacing, surface area andmaterials comprising the electrodes of the sectors disposed withinhousing 200 allow the charged electrodes of each sector to combine thespecific treatment characteristics of each sector to provide fortreatment of a broad range of contaminants from a variety of fluidcolumns.

A single power supply drives this arrangement of distinct anddiversified electrodes within the reactor of the instant invention andeliminates the deficiency of prior art devices that require selectivelytrying other reactors having a different plate configurations, opening areactor and rearranging movable electrode plates or employing aplurality of contaminant separation reactors requiring a plurality ofpower supplies in an effort to find electrode configurations that allowprior art devices to effectively treat feedstocks of constantly varyingcomposition.

By utilizing a single power supply in concert with contaminantseparation sectors having varied plate spacing configurations, surfaceareas and material compositions, the instant invention provides multipletreatment levels for a variety of feedstocks within a single housing.

Completion fluids, such as brines, bromides and formates, utilized inoil and gas production typically become contaminated with solids, suchas clays, oil, suspended metals and other impurities after use inpetroleum production. These oilfield treatment fluids are typicallyfiltered to remove contaminants and allow for the reuse of theserelatively expensive fluids. However, contaminants that cannot beremoved from such fluid columns by current filtration apparatus remainwithin these completion fluids. The accumulation of these suspended anddissolved pollutants can render a volume of completion fluid unfit forcontinued reused in petroleum production due to fouling by excessivevolumes of these contaminants. The instant invention may be utilized toextend the effective life of completion fluids by extracting dissolvedand suspended oilfield pollutants and allow for continued reuse.

The method and apparatus disclosed in the instant invention are bestutilized in the treatment of fluid columns having relatively lowconcentration levels of contaminants. Therefore, pretreatment of afeedstock may be desirable to extract any readily recoverablecontaminants from the fluid column. For example, free-floating oil orother petroleum products may be removed from a feed stream through theuse of equipment utilizing gravity, skimming, centrifugal, coalescing orother separation methods. Such equipment may be configured toautomatically discharge accumulated volumes of separated contaminants toa collection vessel for recycling of the concentrated contaminants. Inmany instances it may be desirable to direct a relatively small portionof a treated fluid column discharged from a contaminant separationreactor to a holding reservoir or collection vessel to allow theresidual effects provided by the instant invention to pretreataccumulated volumes of a candidate feedstock. The addition of anelectrochemically treated fluid column to a feed stream awaitingprocessing typically initiates separation of many contaminants withinthe collected fluid column and provides for a more thorough bulkseparation of contaminants. Thus, residual effects provided to a fluidcolumn treated by the instant invention may be used to pretreataccumulated volumes of a feedstock and enhance the effectiveness ofinitial bulk separation devices, thereby improving the efficiency of theelectrodes in the processing of a pretreated fluid column.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment has been for thepurpose of explanation and illustration. It will be appreciated by thoseskilled in the art that modifications and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the essence and scope of the present invention.Therefore, it is contemplated that the appended claims will cover anymodifications or embodiments that fall within the scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of removing contaminants from a fluidcolumn, comprising the steps of: providing a housing defining aninterior chamber established by a fluid impervious boundary wall with aninner surface and having inlet and outlet ports; providing a pluralityof contaminant separation sectors, each contaminant separation sectorcomprising a pair of electrodes each electrode comprising a plurality ofparallel, spaced apart plates coupled to a common buss bar and whereinthe spacing between the plates is uniform, the plates of the electrodesinterleaving and forming a series of cavities to define a flow path fromthe inlet port to the outlet port of the housing; placing said pluralityof contaminant separation sectors within the interior chamber of thehousing such that the electrodes of the contaminant separation sectorsare arranged in substantially parallel planes and in distinct layers;introducing a feed stream of contaminants carried within a fluid columnto the inlet port of said housing to establish a flow of the fluidcolumn carrying the contaminants through the housing along the definedflow path; applying electrical energy to the electrodes of thecontaminant separation sectors to produce an electric field that causescontaminants carried within a feed stream to separate from the fluidcolumn; and discharging as a processed feed stream the fluid exitingfrom the outlet port of the interior chamber of the housing.
 2. Themethod according to claim 1 further comprising the steps of: replacingthe electrodes; and disposing of the solidified contaminants.
 3. Amethod according to claim 1 wherein the electrodes comprise anelectrically conductive material.
 4. A method according to claim 1wherein the cavities formed between the interleaved parallel plates ofthe electrodes define distinct contaminant separation units.
 5. A methodaccording to claim 1 wherein said contaminant separation sectors arearranged within the housing to create a flow path therethrough.
 6. Anapparatus for removing contaminants from a fluid column comprising: ahousing defining an interior chamber established by a fluid imperviousboundary wall with and inner state and having inlet and outlet ports; afirst contaminant separation sector and a second separation sectormounted within the interior chamber of the housing, each contaminantseparation sector comprising a pair of electrodes, each electrodecomprising a plurality of parallel spaced-apart plates coupled to acommon buss bar and wherein the spacing between the plates of eachcontaminant separation sector is uniform; said first and secondcontaminant separation sectors being mounted within the interior chamberof the housing such that the electrodes of the contaminant separationsectors are arranged in substantially parallel planes and in distinctlayers, the plates of the electrodes interleaving and forming a seriesof cavities to define a flow path from the inlet port to the outlet portof the housing; and a electric power supply coupled to the electrodes toproduce an electric field acting within the series of cavities toseparate contaminants carried within a feed stream from a fluid columnbeing directed along the flow path.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 whereinthe electrode plates of the first contaminant separation sector are incloser proximity to one another in their uniform spacing than theelectrode plates of the second contaminant separation sector in theiruniform spacing so that the volume of the cavities in the firstcontaminant separation sector is greater than the volume of the cavitiesin the second contaminant separation sector along the flow path throughthe housing from the inlet port to the outlet port.
 8. The apparatus ofclaim 6 wherein the fluid flow path extends substantially parallel tothe surface of each electrode plate.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6 whereinthe electrodes comprise an electrically conductive material.
 10. Theapparatus of claim 9 wherein the electrically conductive materialcomprising the electrode plates of the first contaminant separationsector is different from the electrically conductive material comprisingthe electrode plates of the second contaminant separation sector so thatdifferent electrically conductive materials comprise each contaminantseparation sector along the flow path through the housing from the inletport to the outlet port.
 11. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the fluidflow path extends substantially orthogonal to the direction of theelectrical field that is established between opposing electrode plates.12. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein the electrical power supplycomprises a direct current source having first and second electricalterminal connections, each terminal connection being coupled to thecontaminant separation sectors.
 13. The apparatus of claim 12 whereinthe contaminant separation sectors are connected in series to theelectrical power supply.
 14. The apparatus of claim 12 wherein thecontaminant separation sectors are connected in parallel to theelectrical power supply.
 15. The apparatus of claim 6 further comprisinga static mixing apparatus disposed within the housing in a substantiallyperpendicular orientation to the direction of flow through the housing.16. The apparatus of claim 15 wherein static mixing apparatus redirectsthe flow of a fluid from the internal periphery of the housing to theelectrodes of the contaminant separation sectors.